# OpenFDA Drug Adverse Events Search (`scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/openfda-drug-events`) Actor

Search public FDA FAERS drug adverse-event reports by drug name, raw query, and received-date range. Export normalized safety reports with patient, drug, reaction, and serious-event fields.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/scrupulous\_waterbird\_m4w/openfda-drug-events.md
- **Developed by:** [Mori](https://apify.com/scrupulous_waterbird_m4w) (community)
- **Categories:** Other, AI, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per usage

This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## OpenFDA Drug Adverse Events Search

Search the [openFDA FAERS](https://open.fda.gov/data/faers/) drug adverse-event endpoint and export normalized safety-report records from the US FDA public dataset.

This Actor wraps the public `https://api.fda.gov/drug/event.json` endpoint. No API key is required (openFDA's documented rate limits apply, with optional `apiKey` input to lift the per-IP cap).

### What it returns

One normalized record per FAERS safety report, with patient, drug, reaction, and serious-flag fields flattened. Use `includeRaw=true` to also persist the full openFDA record for downstream debugging.

### Inputs

| Field | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `drugName` | string | `aspirin` | Free-text drug name; translated to `patient.drug.medicinalproduct:<value>` |
| `search` | string | `""` | Raw openFDA search expression. Overrides `drugName` when set |
| `startDate` | string (YYYYMMDD) | `""` | Inclusive lower bound for `receivedate` |
| `endDate` | string (YYYYMMDD) | `""` | Inclusive upper bound for `receivedate` |
| `maxItems` | integer | `100` | Cap on records exported (max 1000) |
| `pageSize` | integer | `100` | Records per request (max 1000) |
| `sort` | enum | `receivedate:desc` | openFDA sort field |
| `includeRaw` | boolean | `false` | Include the full raw openFDA record under `raw` |

### Examples

- **All aspirin events (latest 5):** leave defaults at `maxItems=5`.
- **Metformin events for 2024 only:**
  - `drugName=metformin`, `startDate=20240101`, `endDate=20241231`, `maxItems=20`
- **Custom raw query:**
  - `search=patient.reaction.reactionmeddrapt:headache AND receivedate:[20240101 TO 20241231]`

### Compliance notes

openFDA is a US government public dataset; terms of use apply. See https://open.fda.gov/terms/. This Actor exposes public, anonymized safety reports only. It is for research/engineering use, not medical advice.

### Local development

```bash
make install          # one-time: install apify SDK
make run              # local scrape test (reads .actor/input.json)
make push             # build Docker image + push to Apify
```

To override the openFDA per-IP rate cap, register a free key at https://open.fda.gov and pass it via input field `apiKey`.

# Actor input Schema

## `drugName` (type: `string`):

Free-text drug name (e.g. aspirin, ibuprofen, atorvastatin). Translated to patient.drug.medicinalproduct:<value>. Ignored when `search` is set.

## `search` (type: `string`):

Optional raw openFDA search query (e.g. 'patient.drug.medicinalproduct:metformin AND receivedate:\[20240101 TO 20241231]'). Overrides drugName when set.

## `startDate` (type: `string`):

Optional inclusive lower bound for receivedate. Must be in YYYYMMDD format. Appended to the search expression with receivedate:>=.

## `endDate` (type: `string`):

Optional inclusive upper bound for receivedate. Must be in YYYYMMDD format. Appended to the search expression with receivedate:<=.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Cap on total records exported. The openFDA limit per request is 1000; we cap at 1000 to respect that.

## `pageSize` (type: `integer`):

Records fetched per /drug/event.json request. openFDA accepts up to 1000. We default to 100 to balance latency and request count.

## `sort` (type: `string`):

openFDA sort field, e.g. 'receivedate:desc'. Leave empty to skip server-side sorting.

## `includeRaw` (type: `boolean`):

If true, include the raw openFDA record JSON under `raw` for downstream debugging. Adds bulk to the dataset.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "drugName": "aspirin",
  "search": "",
  "startDate": "",
  "endDate": "",
  "maxItems": 100,
  "pageSize": 100,
  "sort": "receivedate:desc",
  "includeRaw": false
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/openfda-drug-events").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/openfda-drug-events").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/openfda-drug-events --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/openfda-drug-events",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/otF2cnC83rywz9oEC/builds/LrmSLRhzVfbr0iLhk/openapi.json